¡Saludos desde Venezuela! Greetings from Venezuela, the country where the term “salsa” was first coined. Venezuela became the second capitol of salsa in the world during the mid-seventies. Big concerts with big name salsa bands were given very frequently. At the same time a lot of local artists flourished and then disappeared. International acts were spending a lot of time in Caracas recording and jamming with the local bands. There are a lot of big stories regarding those unforgettable times.
Nowadays Venezuela isn’t the same country it used to be back then. We have undergone a huge social, political, and economic crisis during the last fifteen years, and salsa indeed has suffered, as everything else, and isn’t enjoying that boom it did back then. But besides that, Venezuela is still a great country and surprises us everyday. So, there are a lot of stories and news I have to comment on for you here on Salsaweb, and at my own site www.seritel.es/salpiquelatino.
Right now two old songs have become hits. Roberto Roena’s “Como Te Hago Entender”, from his album MI MÚSICA 1997, and Adalberto Santiago’s “Alma De Seductor” and “La Noche Más Linda”, both from his 1990 album SEX SYMBOL. This is nothing new to Venezuela. The Lebrón Brothers had some hits in 1982 with the songs “Temperatura” and “Falta”, which were recorded during the ‘70s (the band was reunited as a result for the purpose of touring here). Paquito Guzmán’s 1994 number one hit “25 Rosas”, recorded in ’89, and Cheo Feliciano’s “Mentira” and “Yo No Soy Un Angel” from ’91 were doing great throughout Venezuela in ’95. Even more incredible was what occurred with the then defunct orchestra La Grande de Madrid, which in ’96 had a hit with “Corazón Embustero”, which was recorded in ’93 and sung by a guy imitating the Spanish balladeer Julio Iglesias. There was also La Misma Gente, a band from Colombia, who enjoyed hit status in Venezuela in ’98 with “Mira Mi Piel” from ’95, and even before Roena and Adalberto there was the Dominican singer, Raulín, hitting the radio and matinee parties in ’99 with songs originally recorded from ’91 to ’97.
This whole phenomena, aside from the fact that in Venezuela classic salsa is the preference, is a direct result of the music played in the discotheques and in parties we call “Matinees”, which are simply afternoon parties thrown by and for teens in the clubs. That’s how they become hits here. After the song is a hit in a “matinee” radio picks it up. The record companies are aware of this and working directly with the deejays.
Well, that’s all for now from Venezuela. Hope to see you soon here at Salsaweb.com.
To know more about the Venezuelan latin music scene, visit: www.seritel.es/salpiquelatino, Venezuela’s first Latin music site.